Where does “ungainliness” come from?
ungainliness (English) comes from English ungainly, from English gainly, from English gain, from Middle French gain, from Old French gaaing, from Old French gaaignier, from Vulgar Latin *wadaniāre, from English unspecified — not, un-.
ungainliness (English): The state of being ungainly
Definitions
- The state of being ungainly
Ancestry of “ungainliness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | ungainly | Clumsy; lacking grace; Difficult to move or to... |
| 2 | English | gainly | Suitably; fitly; conveniently; readily;... |
| 3 | English | gain | To acquire possession of; To have or receive... |
| 4 | Middle French | gain | income |
| 5 | Old French | gaaing | gain |
| 6 | Old French | gaaignier | Alternative form of gaigner; to earn, gain,... |
| 7 | Vulgar Latin | *wadaniāre | — |
| 8 | English | unspecified | Not specified; not thoroughly explained or... |
| 9 | English | Un- | — |
| 10 | Middle English | un- | — |
| 11 | Old English | un- | negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms... |
| 12 | Proto-West Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 13 | Proto-Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | n̥- | not, un- |